Anyone watching/participating in the NYC Marathon next weekend? Before I got into running I used to not give two sh!ts about it even though I lived near the course for years, but now I’m actually pretty psyched for this year’s event.
I’m not a big fan of marathons. They seem extremely boring to watch as well. The main events in running that are remotely interesting to me are events 1600m or shorter. You see those marathon runners flipping channels, you watch for a few seconds and think, wow what a pace/stride, then you flip to the next channel because there is no action, no catalyst, no major moves or drastic changes in the competition. Endurance sports aren’t really meant to be watched. Golf is more interesting to watch for me than a marathon. And I don’t really watch golf.
9am today if anyone’s watching.
No thanks. Rather watch paint dry
Sound, first-hand advice here: don’t get plantar fasciitis.
Yeah I heard that is painful. I have achilles tendonitis with is a huge pain. It flared up last year and I thought it was gone. Then I started doing too many boxing/muay thai classes in October (2-3/day) and it came back. What an f-ing pain. It hasn’t torn like last year though. Last year I couldn’t walk up the stairs or really even walk normally for weeks. I ran 4mi this morning with the Muay Thai team and it felt good.
A US woman won for the first time in 40 years, crazy!
Yeah, plantar fasciitis really blows.
A friend’s sister just ran in this race (http://www.rio100mile.com/) over the weekend. She finished in just under 24 hours. Can anyone explain to me the sense in participating in one of these races? Seems like extreme mental and physical torture.
BS calls it a Tuesday.
You rang?
I ran shorter versions (50 miles) years ago in what feels like a different lifetime. I have a more athletic build so for me it felt like 200 miles. We’ll just call it 200 miles, I ran 200 miles. There are many books written about this topic so it’s not a short answer.
Firstly, you don’t run these for the health benefits, initially there was a lot of granola blog hype about this being the natural human state, but once enough time had passed to gather data heart enlargement and scarring / vascular plaque buildup became known risks. That being said at each new level you attain the things that used to be hard for you (like running 10 miles quickly) become fun and liberating.
Secondly, at the height of its popularity and probably still today, you find that many of the runners had experienced some significant life event that had pushed them towards running and many had addictive personalities. So what started as an outlet organically grew with each training session into something much larger. In my own experience I went from smoking a few packs a week and zero physical activity to marathoning within six weeks. I still smoked at the same frequency throughout my tenure as a runner, these days I do neither. But your friend’s sister might just be really into running, it varies.
Dean Karnazes described it as not fun, but a source of joy, delineating the differences. For starters, most of these races are on deep mountain trails and the ability to cruise quietly and lightly through beauty that inaccessible is an experience you never forget. A lot of the training occurs solo and I was always more of a night runner so it meant a lot of nights spent gliding through the far reaches of the city at 2am in snow, rain, fog in a state of observant meditation sunk into the smooth cadence of your breathing and pace. Once you dial in your clothing layers, you’re never uncomfortable and you’re in this state of scenic bliss on a 20 mile run that barely tests you. You stop needing music and you can turn over and examine aspects of your life like its a rubic cube as an impartial observer separated by the serotonin and lull of your task and surroundings. It’s hard to describe.
The races are their own adventure and its not unusual to contend with waist deep streams, descending shale slopes, pulling yourself up mountains by tree branches or ankle deep snow and mud. Dean also called the first third of a race athletic, the second third mental and the last third all heart. I found that accurate. During a race you are never bored, you’re constantly running self diagnostics, measuring your surroundings, considering logistics and questioning your life choices in signing up. It’s been called an eating and drinking contest with running in between. In races you will also experience the most incredible lows followed by euphoric highs. As you enter each third of the race the frequency and amplitude of the cycles increases exponentially, mentally you are holding on for dear life trying to avoid the trap of following either the highs or lows. If you run a marathon you will discover and retain small unique truths about yourself in the process that you can’t otherwise obtain and this occurs in greater magnitude at each incremental distance. The allure of retraining at some point to run a 100 for me was the mystery of what that distance would reveal.
It’s a huge commitment and will swallow all other aspects of your life but that’s a general insight into the thought process that occurs. I’ve heard common viewpoints from many runners but it obviously is unique to each as well.
Sounds like a cool experience.
superman dont need no feet.
What if he uses them as rudders while flying?
This. I’ve never had much of an interest in running long distances because of this. I also read somewhere that habitually running more than 30 miles a week could lead to a long-term decrease in testosterone, which is most definitely a side effect that I don’t want to experience. That being said, I was quite inspired by the NYC Marathon and think it would be a great once in a lifetime experience to be a part of at some point.
Also true. I hated running with a passion my entire life and hadn’t run more than a mile in 10 years before this year. However earlier this year one of my coworkers asked me to run a race with her and in an effort to not embarrass myself I started practicing, and the rest is history. My transformation wasn’t as extreme as BS, but I did go from zero cardio fitness to running a sub-2 hour half marathon in the span of 5 months.
@181lbs today / prob in 5:30-5:40 range
Anyone got advice for getting ramped up for Swimming? I’d like to do a Triathlon (short course) this summer. I can swim front stroke but not efficient for racing. My goal is just not to lose too much time before the bike and run leg.
The August Half Iron is one of the fastest swim courses lol just do that.
I swam it a few years ago with a Rip Curl surf top, untested in long swims. It filled up with water and was all awkward and my time was like half decent.
Can you do freestyle? If you put in the time practicing, you’ll get it. Take a 30min lesson. There are fundamentals.
After already knowing the basics of freestyle, I self coached myself into a pretty competitive triathlon swimmer using the book “Total Immersion”.